Best foot forward

Shoe collection one of many new fundraising efforts

Theresa Press/Herald
Maia and Elena Vierengel helped to collect shoes as part of a Baldwin4Children fundraiser last week.

Theresa Press/Herald

By Chris Connolly

An expanded slate of fundraising efforts got off on the right foot last week with a collection of used shoes. The campaign, a joint project between B4C and funds2orgs.com, focuses on collecting footwear that will be donated to people in developing nations. The shoes are sent to a central facility, where they are cleaned and refurbished before being passed along to people in need.

The Baldwin group, which is raising funds for a variety of education programs, aims to collect 300 bags of shoes — 25 pairs per bag — for which they would receive $3,000. At the end of last week, volunteers had already amassed 192 bags, or 4,800 pairs. The collection’s final day will be Sept. 14, from 9 to 11 a.m., at Baldwin High School. Shoe can also be dropped off at Curves (994 Merrick Road), Inspiration (2419 Grand Ave.) or Shunato Karate (2394 Grand Ave.).

The shoe collection is only one of the fundraising efforts under way. Among the events planned for the next 30 days are a pancake breakfast at Applebee’s, a penny-per-gallon fuel benefit at Chris’ Service Center and a walkathon. For the most up-to-date event listings, click to enlarge the listings, left.